Tag Archives: leaf mulch

If you need any evidence to convince yourself of the nutritional value of leaf mulch, look to the Red-banded Hairstreak’s eating habits for confirmation. This small but showy butterfly, named for the wide slash of red across its wings, has a preference for leaf mulch as the food source for its caterpillars.

Red-banded Hairstreak nectaring on Short-toothed Mountain Mint

By leaf mulch I mean naturally fallen, decomposing leaves. It is often referred to as leaf litter or detritus, terms that sound like something we should clean up or remove. Leaf mulch is such a valuable source of nutrients for both plants and animals, and such a good habitat for so many beneficial insects, that I’ve decide it needs a positive public relations campaign to make it socially acceptable to use naturally fallen leaves as a garden mulch. So I’m calling it what it is – leaf mulch. Join the movement!

Red-banded Hairstreak and friend nectaring on Green-headed or Cutleaf Coneflower

Red-banded Hairstreak caterpillars are reported to eat the fallen leaves of Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera) and other trees including oaks (Quercus species), but fallen sumac leaves are thought to be the favored hosts for this butterfly’s caterpillars.

When laying their eggs (ovipositing) female Red-banded Hairstreaks walk on the ground, usually depositing eggs on the underside of fallen leaves. After they hatch, the caterpillars feed on the leaves. Red-banded Hairstreaks spend the winter as fourth instar caterpillars, likely in the shelter of this naturally fallen leaf mulch.

Winged Sumac (Rhuscopallinum) is a favorite food source for Red-banded Hairstreak caterpillars. It’s also a good choice as an ornamental shrub, because it has glossy deep green compound leaves with a ‘winged’ midrib that gives this species its name.

Winged Sumac flowers

Its large pyramid-shaped clusters of yellowish flowers bloom in mid to late summer. They are attractive to many insect pollinators, including butterflies.

Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica) is another attractive shrub that grows to a height of about 8 feet (2.5 meters) with glossy blue-green three-parted leaves that are somewhat aromatic. It blooms in spring before or concurrently with its leaves unfurling, has brightly colored fall foliage, and red fruit. It can tolerate sun to part shade.

Fragrant Sumac in fall

Staghorn Sumac is (Rhus typhina) taller, with a maximum height of about 25-33 feet (7.5-10 meters), beautiful fall color that begins to show in late summer, and bright red fruit clusters. It has large clusters of yellowish flowers that generally bloom in June.

Staghorn Sumac in fall

With sumacs, male and female flowers are usually, although not always, on separate plants, so to get fruit make sure you have a male as well as females. According to the USDA, several mammals and over 300 species of birds eat the fruit, although usually not until late in the winter, so you’ll be able to see their luscious bright red color for a long time.

Staghorn Sumac fruit

Among the birds I’ve seen eating the fruits are Chickadees, Downy and Pileated Woodpeckers.

Carolina Chickadee

When established, sumacs may also spread through their underground root system. If you are considering a plant screening or hedgerow, consider Winged Sumac. It spreads quickly, and is quite lovely.

Are you thinking, “Sumacs? Won’t I get a rash from them? Aren’t they poison?” No! Only the related species, Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix), has the chemical composition to give you a rash. Poison Sumac is actually more closely related to Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) than it is to the other sumacs. Even these two ‘poison’ plants have wildlife value in the food offered by their flowers and fruits! But they’re usually not recommended as garden plants.

Let’s get back to leaf mulch for a minute, because it’s the best fertilizer you can offer your plants. There may be more scenarios than those below, but let’s consider some of our options:

Rake or blow leaves from planting beds, prepare them for municipal pick up, buy composted leaf mulch and apply it to beds;

I like option 3. What about you? To entice Red-banded Hairstreaks to take up residency with you, consider adding sumacs to your landscape. For a healthy garden, use leaf mulch. To enable Red-banded Hairstreaks to successfully reproduce and survive the winter, let the naturally fallen leaves be your mulch.

If we really want to get to know butterflies a little better, we need to encourage them to take up residence on our property rather than just stopping for a quick bite to eat. To achieve that, we need to think about providing the habitat they need throughout as much of their life cycle as we are able. Let’s look at the Great Spangled Fritillary as an example.